


They're Not as Good Plain

by AGayMessTBH



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Emotionally Constipated Tsukki, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, University AU, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29598603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGayMessTBH/pseuds/AGayMessTBH
Summary: But… he couldn’t seem to get the image of Yamaguchi’s smile out of his head. Or the pattern of freckles across his cheeks. Or the way his eyes would light up every time Tsukishima would pass him his lattes.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 113





	They're Not as Good Plain

_9:59_

The time on Tsukishima’s watch seemed to mock him as he waited for the next thirty seconds to pass. All he wanted was to turn off the lights and go home. Kuroo had called in sick that morning, and his manager had all but begged him to come in early. This coffee scented hell of a job was starting to give him a headache. 

However, his hope of leaving on time was shattered when he heard the bell above the door ting pitifully. Tsukishima almost groaned. He considered yelling at the customer, cursing them out until they left crying. He turned and opened his mouth, only to find said customer nearly in tears already.

“Listen, I know you’re about to close, but I need a latte. Desperately. _Please.”_

“I’m sorry, but we close in a minute-”

The boy lost it. His breath hitched, and he brought the sleeves of his sweater up to rub at his eyes. His nose scrunched and tears began to drip down his cheeks. Tsukishima stood behind the counter, frozen.

“Hey,” Tsukishima began, eyes wide. Comforting people, much less strangers, was absolutely out of his element, “I’ll get you a latte, grab a seat. Here, sit away from the window.”

Tsukishima flipped the store sign to “closed”, and moved back behind the counter. The other boy was still sniffling, but he lowered his head into his hands. Tsukishima got to work, grinding espresso beans, before tamping the grounds down. He fell back into an easy routine, his muscle memory taking over. Soon the drink was done, and he set the mug in front of the stranger.

“What’s your name?” Tsukishima asked, as he settled on a stool next to him.

“Yamaguchi Tadashi,” He replied, voice still shaking. “ _God,_ I’m so sorry I’m making you stay late.”

“I don’t mind that much.” That was a lie, but Tsukishima wasn’t a _complete_ asshole. “Do you… want to tell me what’s wrong?” 

“It’s kind of stupid, but my girlfriend just broke up with me, and I had one of my midterms earlier today, and I have to study more tonight, and--” he paused, raking his hands through his hair in defeat. “I’m just so tired.” Yamaguchi’s eyes certainly looked tired. They seemed dull.

“I don’t think that’s stupid. Today was a rough day. Drink up, it’ll get cold soon.”

“Thank you, uhm?” Yamaguchi looked at him expectantly.

  
  
“Tsukishima. Tsukishima Kei.”

“Thank you, Tsukki.”

Tsukishima felt his cheeks warm. He watched as Yamaguchi tentatively took his first sip. Yamaguchi’s adam's apple bobbed, and his face lit up, as if this latte was the best thing to happen to him all day. It probably was. They sat in a surprisingly comfortable silence until Yamaguchi finished his latte, and stood to leave.

“Let me finish cleaning up, and I’ll walk you out.”

  
  
“Thank you. I mean it,” Yamaguchi smiled.

For some reason, Tsukishima smiled back.

\--

“You seem chipper,” Tsukishima remarked, pulling a cup from a stack as Yamaguchi walked up to the register.

His eyes seemed brighter, and the small smile on his face was infectious.

“It’s amazing what _actually_ sleeping does for one’s mental health,” Yamaguchi chuckled, and leaned against the counter.

Tsukishima hadn’t noticed before, but he had freckles in the pattern of the Libra constellation across his nose. Cute.

“Would you like a latte, then?"

“Yep! Can you put cinnamon syrup in there too? They’re not as good plain.”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Tsukki!”

Tsukishima was starting to like his nickname.

\--

“Tsukishima has a _crush!_ ” Kuroo sang childishly from behind the register.

Tsukishima had begun to seriously regret telling Kuroo anything about Yamaguchi. An easy smirk fell onto Kuroo’s face as he brought a straw to his lips and blew its wrapper in Tsukishima’s general direction.

“Could you knock that off?” Tsukishima sighed, snatching the straw wrapper before it hit him.

“I never thought I’d live to see the day Tsukishima Kei gets flustered over a _boy!_ ” 

“Then don’t.” 

The bell above the cafe’s door chimed.

“Tsukki is flustered over a boy?” A third voice inquired.

Kuroo’s smirk grew even wider. Yamaguchi made his way to the counter, and placed his money down. 

“No, I am _not._ ” He denied, as his face warmed. “Do you want cinnamon today?”

Tsukishima's voice came out softer than he intended. 

“Yes, please! Thank you Tsukki!” As soon as Yamaguchi nodded in agreement, Tsukishima turned to face the espresso machine, hunching his shoulders to hide the pink rising from his cheeks to his ears. 

Kuroo finished ringing up Yamaguchi’s latte, and Tsukishima placed his cup down.

“I hope things go well with you and that boy!” Yamaguchi chirped as he walked out of the cafe.

“Yeah. Me too.”

\--

“Tsukki, come hang out with me! When’s your shift done?” Yamaguchi asked, as Tsukishima poured steaming milk into a to-go cup.

“I get done at four, but I’d need to change so I don’t reek of coffee.”

“Do you want to meet up for ice cream at six? Oh, wait! Let me give you my number!”

Yamaguchi leaned over the counter, trailing his hand to the pocket of Tsukishima’s apron and plucking a sharpie out of it. Tsukishima stood in shocked silence, trying to hold back a shiver. Smirking, Yamaguchi pushed up Tsukishima’s sleeve, and scrawled his phone number on his wrist.

“I’ll see you at six,” Yamaguchi tugged the sleeve back down, giving it a small pat.

Tsukishima watched Yamaguchi’s form retreat out of the shop. He then turned to Kuroo with fear in his eyes. 

“What do I wear? I have to text Asahi.”

Kuroo simply laughed. 

\-- 

After a few frantic texts and a spritz of cologne, Tsukishima made it to the ice cream shop unscathed and slightly more fashionable in a turtleneck and a long coat. He found Yamaguchi sitting at a table, smiling at something on his phone. 

“I’m here,” Tsukishima announced, as he sat down across from the other boy.

“So you are,” Yamaguchi laughed and turned his phone around to face Tsukishima, “Look! Doesn’t this frog look like you?”  
  


“The frog is just grumpy.”

“Exactly.”

Tsukishima huffed and walked up to the shop counter, his companion following with a smile stuck to his lips.

“Can I please have a scoop of strawberry shortcake?” 

“I’ll have birthday cake, please!”

They paid, and returned to their table. Yamaguchi took a bite of his ice cream, face lighting up immediately. Tsukishima took a spoonful of his own. It was better than usual. He thought it might be because of Yamaguchi’s company. 

“So, Tsukki, are you in college?” Yamaguchi asked.

“I am. I’m studying paleontology at Sendai University."

“Wait, I’m at Sendai University too! How have we never seen each other there?"

Tsukishima shrugged, “I study and work a lot, I don’t hang out on campus much.”

“Text me next time you’re on campus! We can hang out!”

  
  
“I’ll keep that in mind.”

\--

“Tsukkiii, come with me to the cafeteria!” Yamaguchi whined over the phone.

“Why? I’m busy right now.”

“I miss you!”

Tsukishima buried his head in his textbook, and tried not to squeak into the dead quiet of the library. 

“I’ll meet you there in fifteen?”

“Tsukki, you’re the best!”

\--

The rest of their fall semester passed by rather uneventfully. Yamaguchi would come in for coffee, and Tsukishima would make it. They would meet up for lunch at the cafeteria, and Yamaguchi would walk him to class after. They quickly fell into a routine.

One that did _not_ include Yamaguchi sending him his location at one in the morning, with no text attached. 

Tsukishima tried texting him. He tried once, then twice, then ten times. When all of them remained unread, cold panic began to drip down his spine. 

_It was probably nothing_ , Tsukishima tried to reason with himself. He rolled over in his bed and tried to fall back asleep. He just couldn’t drift off; not while his mind replayed different scenarios of terrible things happening to Yamaguchi, waiting for a Tsukishima who wouldn’t come.

Giving up on sleep, Tsukishima threw on his snow boots and his jacket. He slammed open the door to his apartment, cursing himself as he fumbled with his keys. As soon as his lock clicked shut, he raced out of his building and into the cold of winter, not caring that he was only in a thin pair of dinosaur pajama pants. 

Tsukishima’s map pointed him to a park, not a far walk from his apartment. He ran there, panic making the trip much shorter than usual. He came face to face with Yamaguchi.

Sitting on a swing, waving him over. Completely fine. 

“Whoa, where are your glasses?” Yamaguchi inquired, laughing as he stood from his perch.

“You think this is funny?” Tsukishima huffed back, both relief and anger washing over him. 

“What’s funny? I couldn’t sleep and ended up walking over here. I thought I’d see if you wanted to hang out. You didn’t _have_ to come,” Yamaguchi replied, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. 

“Check your phone.”

Yamaguchi checked, and saw thirteen unanswered texts, the most recent one reading: _please be okay_. Yamaguchi opened his mouth to respond, but was instead pulled into a hug. 

“Next time, please add some context. I was really scared,” Tsukishima’s voice shook a bit as he spoke.

Yamaguchi didn’t reply for a while. He just stood there, soaking in the warmth of Tsukishima’s hug. It was cold out, snow was gently falling around them, and Tsukishima was trembling in Yamaguchi’s arms. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think about it.”

Tsukishima pulled him closer.

\--

They ended up walking back to Tsukishima’s apartment. It was too cold for Yamaguchi to walk home, Tsukishima reasoned with himself. He decided it was _not_ because he wanted Yamaguchi to come over. 

Yamaguchi’s idea of a late night walk seemed to have its intended effects, as he began to yawn and rub his eyes during the last stretch to Tsukishima’s apartment. As soon as they walked in the door, Yamaguchi flopped onto the couch and pulled a throw pillow to his chest. Tsukishima chuckled a bit, and flicked on the light to the kitchen. 

He grabbed milk from his refrigerator and poured some into a frother. He then grabbed two packets of hot cocoa and emptied them into mugs. Once the milk was done frothing, he mixed it with the hot cocoa and took the mugs into the living room. He set one down in front of Yamaguchi. 

“What’s this for?”

“Well, you must have been cold waiting in the park. This will warm you up.”

Yamaguchi smiled to himself and took a sip. And then another. Soon, the mug was empty.

“You’re really sweet, Tsukki. Thank you.”

Tsukishima looked away, embarrassed, “It’s nothing. Come on, you can take my bed. I’m not tired.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Yamaguchi seemed too tired to argue, and allowed Tsukishima to lead him to his room. He crawled under the covers and almost immediately fell asleep.

Tsukishima chuckled to himself, turned out the lights, and closed the door. He moved to his couch, grabbed a blanket, and settled down. Yamaguchi’s vanilla cologne lingered on the cushions. His heart was pounding. It felt a little weird, getting this worked up over a crush.

He found he didn’t mind the warmth in his chest as he shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep. 

\--

“Tsukki, let me take you out to say thank you!” Yamaguchi leaned on the cafe counter, watching him tamp down espresso grounds.

Tsukishima got stuck with the opening shift the morning after their park escapade and had only gotten four hours of sleep. 

“It’s alright, Yamaguchi.”

“But I feel bad! You get off at two right? Let me take you out for lunch!”

“Okay, _fine_. But it can’t be expensive.”

“Deal.”

Three hours later, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima ended up sitting in a McDonald’s, splitting a milkshake and eating their meals.

“I’ll trade you my crispy fries for your soggy ones.”

“You like soggy fries?” Tsukishima asked incredulously. 

“Duh. You don’t?” 

“No.”

“Great! We make a perfect pair then.” Yamaguchi laughed and started grabbing at Tsukishima’s fries.

Tsukishima coughed, and shielded his growing blush with his hand. Yamaguchi laughed. 

As they were walking out, Yamaguchi turned to him and placed a kiss on his cheek. 

“I’ll facetime you later, then?”

“Sure,” Tsukishima replied, a little dazed.

“You’re so _cute_ when you’re flustered! I’ll text you when I get on the train.”

Yamaguchi turned and walked away, while Tsukishima stood there holding his cheek.

\--

It was the first day of spring term and Tsukishima was going to ask Yamaguchi to be his boyfriend.

He had never had a boyfriend before. He had never thought about wanting one.

But… he couldn’t seem to get the image of Yamaguchi’s smile out of his head. Or the pattern of freckles across his cheeks. Or the way his eyes would light up every time Tsukishima would pass him his lattes.

Ever since the park incident Yamaguchi’s presence had become a constant, not that Tsukishima minded. Today they had plans to meet up at a museum after their classes, and Tsukishima intended to make this their first official date.

His hands shook against the metal bar he held during his train ride. 

Once there, he ended up sitting on the steps, leg bouncing as he scrolled mindlessly on his phone. 

That is, until a familiar pair of sneakers appeared in front of him.

“Did I make you wait long?” Yamaguchi chuckled. He held two to-go cups in his hands. “I got hot chocolate to make up for it.”

“No, I didn’t wait long.” The words got stuck in Tsukishima’s throat as he accepted the cup from Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi looked at Tsukishima quizzically. Tsukishima thought he was going to throw up. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“Always, Tsukki, what’s up?”

“Will you go out with me?” 

Silence followed. Tsukishima stared down at the cup in his hands. He didn’t want to look at Yamaguchi’s expression; not if Yamaguchi was going to reject him. Even though it was the start of their spring term, the weather was still cold, and steam drifted into the air from the cup.

“I am out with you, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi replied back, laughing slightly.

“No. As my boyfriend. Will you be my boyfriend?”

More silence followed. Tsukishima wanted to leave.

“I thought I was?” 

Tsukishima’s head shot up in confusion. “You thought we were dating?”

  
  
“Yeah. We’ve been on, like, four dates? I thought the kiss on the cheek was pretty obvious,” Yamaguchi chuckled and scratched behind his head awkwardly. 

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Tsukishima dragged his hand down his reddening face. 

“I mean, maybe I shouldn’t have assumed, but I thought we’ve been dating for, like, at least two weeks. I told my best friend about you?”

Another silence fell between the pair, as they just stared at each other.

Then, suddenly, Yamaguchi started laughing.

“Oh my god. Well, yes, I will be your boyfriend. We obviously need to work on communication.”

“Yeah, that much is clear.” Tsukishima coughed to clear his throat.

“From now on, you have to make your intentions _clear_ , mister,” Yamaguchi punctuated his sentence with a jab to Tsukishima’s chest.

“So we’re dating.”

“Yes, Tsukki, we’re dating.” 

A small grin stretched across Tsukki’s cheeks, “I’m... glad. You can call me Kei sometimes too. If you want.”

Yamaguchi chuckled, “Then you can call me Tadashi. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Now, tell me about all of these dinosaurs, Kei. Maybe, if you teach me something new, I’ll give you a real kiss.”

Yamaguchi learned that the smallest fully grown dinosaur fossil was the size of a chicken.

Tsukishima got his kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [ Talia ](https://twitter.com/TaliaMamane?s=20) for being my beta<3
> 
> Follow my twitter: [VFrenchfry](https://twitter.com/VFrenchfry) and my Instagram: [violent.frenchfry](https://www.instagram.com/violent.frenchfry/?hl=en) I draw a lot of Tsukkiyama.
> 
> Their second date was at their government-mandated Baskin Robbins with 31 Flavors and One Flavor of the Month.


End file.
